Bassinets have been used in the care of infants for centuries. Such devices typically include an oblong-shaped basket having a floor, raised walls, and an open top. A mattress and/or other suitable cushioning are typically provided within the basket for enhancing the comfort of the child. The basket is often provided on some form of stand to elevate the level of the basket for ease of use.
As families have become increasingly mobile, it has become increasingly desirable to provide a portable bassinet to accommodate this mobility. However, given the shape of the oblong basket, height of the supporting stand, and structural integrity and weight limitations required of such devices, bassinets do not easily lend themselves to transformation into dimensionally small and light weight units for ease of transportation and/or storage.
A number of foldable playpens and cribs have been created. However, to the extent such structures include a foldable floor, they typically rely on support afforded by the ground on which they rest to maintain a horizontal floor position. If elevated, the ground would provide no support, and the floor would tend to invert given a sufficiently heavy load. Alternatively, centralized support structure must be provided below the foldable floor. Such structure necessarily imposes undesirable size and weight penalties on the device.